- UCAS course code
- Q320
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA English Literature
Explore traditional English literature alongside post-colonial literatures, cultural theory, creative writing, and film.
- Typical A-level offer: AAA including specific subjects
- Typical contextual A-level offer: ABB including specific subjects
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: ABC including specific subjects
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 36 points overall with 6,6,6 at HL including specific subjects
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
- Find out more from student finance
- Eligible UK students can apply for bursaries and scholarships
- Funding for EU and international students is on our country-specific pages
- Many students work part-time or complete a student internship
Course unit details:
Narrative Theory and Victorian Fiction
Unit code | ENGL30172 |
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Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 3 |
Teaching period(s) | Semester 2 |
Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
Roland Barthes observed that narrative is “international, transhistorical, transcultural: it is simply there, like life itself”. This course asks three inter-related questions. What is narrative? How does narrative work? What does narrative do i.e. why do human beings need narrative? To answer these questions, the course examines key leading theorists of narrative (e.g. Propp. Bakhtin, Brooks, Jameson) and important debates within narrative theory (e.g. closure, masterplots, intention). The course uses three novels by Charles Dickens to explore these theories and debates. In short, this is a dialectical course which uses narrative theory to explore the works of Charles Dickens while simultaneously using the works of Charles Dickens to explore narrative theory.
Aims
- to introduce students to key theorists of narrative and important concepts and debates within narrative theory;
- to use aspects of narrative theory to produce theoretically-informed analyses of novels by Charles Dickens;
- to use Dickens’ novels to assess the validity of the claims made by narrative theorists and the utility of various concepts within narrative theory;
- to develop skills of critical thought and writing in relation to the study of narrative theory and the novels of Charles Dickens;
- to develop IT and design skills through the research poster assignment;
Learning outcomes
- Students will achieve an understanding of a range of theoretical concepts and debates within the field of narrative theory.
- Students will obtain greater knowledge, understanding and appreciation of a range of Victorian fiction.
- Students will be able to use concepts from the field of narrative theory to produce critical analyses of Victorian fiction.
- Students will be able to use Victorian fiction to produce a critical analysis of key concepts within the field of narrative theory.
Teaching and learning methods
This class will have a 1 hour close-reading workshop and a 2 hour seminar (supported by a series of lecture podcasts).
Materials including lecture podcasts, bibliographies, study questions, exercises, handouts, will be posted on Blackboard each week.
Knowledge and understanding
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- demonstrate a good familiarity with a range of narrative theorists and concepts;
- demonstrate a critical understanding of how specific aspects of narrative theory can be used to produce a theoretically-informed reading of Dickens’ fiction;
- demonstrate a critical understanding of how Dickens’ fiction might challenge or confirm specific claims made by and/or concepts used within narrative theory;
Intellectual skills
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- think critically and make critical judgments about the validity and utility of narrative theory and its associated concepts and debates;
- analyse course texts in a theoretically sophisticated manner;
- identify and evaluate the competing epistemological claims of narrative theory and Dickens’ fiction with regard to matters of theoretical and evidential warrant;
Practical skills
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- think critically and make critical judgments about the validity and utility of narrative theory and its associated concepts and debates;
- analyse course texts in a theoretically sophisticated manner;
- identify and evaluate the competing epistemological claims of narrative theory and Dickens’ fiction with regard to matters of theoretical and evidential warrant;
Transferable skills and personal qualities
- retrieve, sift, organise, synthesise and critically evaluate material from a range of different sources, including library, electronic, and online resources;
- produce written work using appropriate language for an academic audience;
- produce written work that collects and integrates evidence to formulate/test a critical argument;
- make good use of word processing software;
- demonstrate good teamwork skills by acknowledging the views of others and working constructively with others in seminars;
- manage time effectively by scheduling tasks in order of importance;
- communicate knowledge specific to narrative theory using language appropriate for an extra-academic audience via the research poster;
- develop and complete an effective research project on a key narrative theorist/debate/concept(s);
- demonstrate the ability to improve one’s own learning through critical reflection and good time management;
Assessment methods
Research Poster | 40% |
Essay | 60% |
Recommended reading
Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby
Charles Dickens, Bleak House
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
H. Porter Abbott, The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative
V. Propp, The Morphology of the Folktale
M. Bakhtin, ‘Forms of Time and of the Chronotope in the Novel’
F. Jameson, The Political Unconscious
P. Brooks, Reading for the Plot
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
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Michael Sanders | Unit coordinator |